Between Two Thorns: The Split Worlds
Emma Newman
Diversion Books
Re-release February 23, 2016
Cathy thought she’d escaped her awful family, but she was wrong. She comes from a noble family of the Fae-touched; an old segment of human society favored by the Fae, living in the space between the mundane world and the prison realm of the Fae, Exilium. That space between is called the Nether, and is untouched by time in both a literal and figurative sense. People don’t grow old there, and they behave as though it’s still far in the past. Electricity, computers, running hot water and women’s liberation aren’t a part of society life in the Nether.
Cathy used the traditional coming of age wish that everyone got from their family’s Fae patron to go to college in Mundanus, and from there, she ditched her chaperone and lived a normal modern human life. Until Lord Poppy found her. Now she’s stuck having to come up with a wish that will impress him, and she has to go home to an engagement she doesn’t want to a man she doesn’t know. She has one chance to change her fate when she finds out her uncle the Master of Ceremonies has been abducted, and it seems another family is at the heart of it.
This fanciful tale of the girl who just wanted to be normal is the start of the Split Worlds series, and the re-release is in preparation for the fourth book, A Little Knowledge. A Little Knowledge is out August 2nd, and we’ll be reviewing it here as well. Between Two Thorns is a fun start to the series, and shows that there’s certainly more entertainment to come. It shows itself to be the beginning to a much larger story arc, and the conspiracy it weaves makes you want to jump right into the next part of it. Which we definitely will. The books mix courtly intrigue with modern day urban fantasy, and so far has a thumbs up from me!
JL Jamieson is a strange book nerd who writes technical documents by day, and book news, reviews, and other assorted opinions for you by night. She is working on her own fiction, and spends time making jewelry to sell at local conventions, as well as stalking the social media accounts of all your favorite writers.